NYPD cop arrested in motorcycle-SUV assault case

The Range Rover involved in the bikers attack is being moved from the police precinct for further police investigation Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013 in New York. Last weekend, dozens of bikers stopped the Range Rover SUV on a highway, attacked the vehicle, then chased the driver and pulled him from the car after he plowed over a motorcyclist while trying to escape, police said. The driver, Alexian Lien, needed stitches after being pummeled by the bikers. The motorcyclist who was crushed by the SUV, Edwin Mieses Jr., of Lawrence, Massachusetts, suffered a broken spine and two broken legs and may never walk again, his family said. Robert Sims, 35, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault and weapons possession. Police said he took part in the attack on Lien (AP Photo/David Karp)

The Range Rover involved in the bikers attack is being moved from the police precinct for further police investigation Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013 in New York. Last weekend, dozens of bikers stopped the Range Rover SUV on a highway, attacked the vehicle, then chased the driver and pulled him from the car after he plowed over a motorcyclist while trying to escape, police said. The driver, Alexian Lien, needed stitches after being pummeled by the bikers. The motorcyclist who was crushed by the SUV, Edwin Mieses Jr., of Lawrence, Massachusetts, suffered a broken spine and two broken legs and may never walk again, his family said. Robert Sims, 35, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault and weapons possession. Police said he took part in the attack on Lien (AP Photo/David Karp)

Craig Wright stands in court in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. Wright, 29, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault, assault and unlawful imprisonment, police said, for his involvement with an encounter between a group of bikers and the driver of a sport utility vehicle on Sept. 29. Police say the bikers stopped the SUV on a highway and later attacked the vehicle and pulled the driver from his car after he had plowed over a Massachusetts motorcyclist while trying to escape the initial confrontation. (AP Photo/New York Post, Steven Hirsch, Pool)

Craig Wright stands in court in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. Wright, 29, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault, assault and unlawful imprisonment, police said, for his involvement with an encounter between a group of bikers and the driver of a sport utility vehicle on Sept. 29. Police say the bikers stopped the SUV on a highway and later attacked the vehicle and pulled the driver from his car after he had plowed over a Massachusetts motorcyclist while trying to escape the initial confrontation. (AP Photo/New York Post, Steven Hirsch, Pool)

Craig Wright, right, stands in court with his attorney Mitchell Elman in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. Wright, 29, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault, assault and unlawful imprisonment, police said, for his involvement with an encounter between a group of bikers and the driver of a sport utility vehicle on Sept. 29. Dozens of bikers stopped the Range Rover SUV on a highway, attacked the vehicle, then chased the driver and pulled him from the car after he plowed over a motorcyclist while trying to escape, police said. The driver, Alexian Lien, needed stitches after being pummeled by the bikers. (AP Photo/Jefferson Siegel, Pool)

Craig Wright, right, stands in court with his attorney Mitchell Elman in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. Wright, 29, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of gang assault, assault and unlawful imprisonment, police said, for his involvement with an encounter between a group of bikers and the driver of a sport utility vehicle on Sept. 29. Dozens of bikers stopped the Range Rover SUV on a highway, attacked the vehicle, then chased the driver and pulled him from the car after he plowed over a motorcyclist while trying to escape, police said. The driver, Alexian Lien, needed stitches after being pummeled by the bikers. (AP Photo/New York Post, Steven Hirsch, Pool)

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NEW YORK (AP) â€” An undercover detective who investigators said was off duty when he was recorded on video pounding on an SUV as a biker rally spiraled into violence was arrested late Tuesday.

Braszczok was expected to make a court appearance Wednesday. There was no response to phone messages left with his attorney.

The attorney, Phil Karasyk, had said Monday that the detective, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had only witnessed other bikers attacking the vehicle. But investigators discovered video evidence showing him punching an already damaged back window, then twice kicking the side of the SUV before leaving the scene, according to two people familiar with the case. The people weren’t authorized to discuss the inquiry and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The arrest added to the complexities of the Sept. 29 episode, which authorities say began with a reckless motorcycle group ride on a Manhattan highway and ended with one motorcyclist run over and the driver dragged from his SUV and beaten on a street.

Four bikers aside from Braszczok have been criminally charged; the latest was arraigned Tuesday on gang assault and other charges.

NYPD internal affairs investigators had initially been looking into the undercover detective’s conduct because he didn’t report until three days later that he had been at the rally. The expectation that police officers will act if they see crimes isn’t the same for undercover officers.

The encounter, captured partly on a helmet-mounted video that was posted online, began when about two dozen riders slowed down, swarming the Range Rover after it bumped a biker on the West Side Highway. Some riders dismounted and approached the SUV, and police said some bikers began damaging it.

Lien’s wife has said he feared for their lives and the safety of their 2-year-old daughter and had no choice but to flee; Lien hasn’t been charged with any crime.

The bikers pursued the SUV, which exited the highway and got stuck in street traffic. One biker used his helmet to shatter the driver’s window, and others pulled Lien out and beat and kicked him, police and prosecutors said. Lien needed stitches.

The latest motorcyclist charged in the case, Craig Wright, punched Lien through the broken window and joined in stomping him on the street, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Turino said. A judge set Wright’s bail at $100,000.

Wright’s lawyer, Mitchell Elman, cautioned against any “rush to judgment” in the highly scrutinized case.

“Mr. Wright, obviously, has every right to fight these charges,” he said.

According to the undercover detective’s account, he saw motorcyclists attacking the SUV but didn’t see anyone harm Lien, Karasyk said Monday. The detective also didn’t see the SUV hit Mieses, the attorney said.

Carrying no badge or gun, and aware of cases in which officers had been suspended or dismissed for blowing their covers, “he had no other option, so he drove away,” said Karasyk, who works with the detectives’ union.

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